DRAFT STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE
TO THE 56th GENERAL CONFERENCE
OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
AS DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY
ARCHBISHOP DOMINIQUE MAMBERTI,
SECRETARY FOR THE HOLY SEE’S RELATIONS WITH STATES

Vienna
17 September 2012

Mr. President!

1. I have the honour of conveying to you, Mr. President, to
the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Yukiya
Amano, and to all the distinguished participants in this 56th General
Conference of the IAEA the best wishes and cordial greetings of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI who, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the
IAEA, said: “[T]he commitment to encourage non-proliferation of nuclear arms, to
promote a progressive and agreed upon nuclear disarmament and to support the use
of peaceful and safe nuclear technology for authentic development, respecting
the environment and ever mindful of the most disadvantaged populations, is
always more present and urgent” (cf.
Angelus Address of July 29, 2007).

2. In a world that is becoming progressively and pervasively globalized“the risk is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is
not matched by ethical interaction of consciences and minds that would give rise
to truly human development” (Pope Benedict XVI Encyclical Letter Caritas in
veritate, no. 9).

This risk becomes all the more pronounced when considering also the so-called
“nuclear renaissance” across the globe and its numerous related challenges in
the connection between nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation; the growth in
demand for energy; the threats posed by nuclear terrorism and the nuclear black
market; the call for nuclear safety and security, etc.. These challenges will be
seriously addressed only by cultivating a culture of peace founded upon the
primacy of law and the respect for human life.

In this context, the IAEA can and must contribute to favouring an
“ethical interaction of consciences and minds” (ibid.), essential in
order to respond to those challenges and to promote a truly integral human
development, which, for the Holy See, must be “of universal range, in dialogue
between knowledge and praxis” (cfr. ibid., no. 4).

Mister President!

3. We all know the strong interlinkages between nuclear
disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation: they are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing and their transparent and responsible implementation represents one
of the principal instruments not only in the fight against nuclear terrorism,
but also in the concrete realization of a culture of life and of peace capable
of promoting in an effective way the integral development of peoples. In this perspective the international community should show an effective and
visible expression of intent to construct and strengthen a global legal basis
for the systematic elimination of all nuclear weapons. It can no longer be
considered morally sufficient to draw down the stocks of superfluous nuclear
weapons while modernizing nuclear arsenals and investing vast sums to ensure
their future production and maintenance. For these reasons, the Holy See regards the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as
the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and will continue
to offer its own contribution to the preparation of fertile ground so that the
IX Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
scheduled for 2015, will produce consistent and encouraging results not only for
strengthening the Treaty itself, but also for making it a more effective
instrument in responding to the new challenges that are continually emerging on
the nuclear horizon.

Mister President!

4. Global security must not rely on nuclear weapons. The Holy See considers the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) an important tool to achieve this
aim,without mentioning its potential civil and scientific application through its International Monitoring System.I am honoured to have the name of the Holy See, as well my own name, on the list
of countries that support the Ministerial Statement of the VI CTBT Ministerial
Conference. The Holy See is convinced that, in working together, the signature,
ratification and entry into force of the Treaty will represent a great leap
forward for the future of humanity, as well as for the protection of the earth
and environment entrusted to our care by the Creator.

Also in this regard, the ratification on the part of all States, in
particular nuclear-weapon States, of the respective Protocols to the
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones Treaties is of paramount importance. The Holy See
restates its strong support for the efforts to establish such a zone in the
Middle East and remains hopeful for the discussions that will take place on this
topic in Finland. Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) are the best example of
trust, confidence and affirmation that peace and security are possible without
possessing nuclear weapons.

5. Humanity deserves no less than the full co-operation of
all States in this important matter. Every step on the non-proliferation and
disarmament agenda must be built on the principles of the preeminent and
inherent value of human dignity and the centrality of the human person, which
constitute the basis of international humanitarian law. Last May, on the
occasion of the First Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of
the Parties to the NPT, the Holy See was a co-sponsor of the Joint Statement on
the Humanitarian Dimension of Nuclear Disarmament – one of the principal
novelties that emerged during that Meeting. Nuclear weapons have the destructive
capacity to pose a threat to the survival of humanity and as long as they
continue to exist the threat to humanity will remain. Moreover, nuclear weapons
are useless in addressing current challenges such as poverty, health, climate
change, terrorism or transnational crime. The only way to guarantee that these
weapons will not be used again is through their total, irreversible and
verifiable elimination, under international control. In this, the IAEA has a
central role to play.

Mr. President,

6. Since its foundation, the International Atomic Energy
Agency remains an irreplaceable point of reference for international
co-operation in the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and for
integral human development. In this regard, the Holy See welcomes Fiji, San
Marino and Trinidad and Tobago as new Member States of the IAEA’s family.

An important issue affecting not only the IAEA family, but the human
family at large, is the topic of nuclear safety. The Holy See closely follows
the progress made in the implementation of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear
Safety and commends the IAEA on its implementation. What transpired at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station quickly revealed that a local nuclear
crisis is indeed a global problem. It also revealed that the world is exposed to real and systemic risks, and not
just hypothetical ones, with incalculable costs and the necessity of developing
an international political coordination the likes of which have never been seen,
thus raising many questions.

Energy security and nuclear security require the adoption of appropriate
technical and legal measures, as well as action and responses at the cultural
and ethical level. In the short term, technical and legal measures are necessary
for the protection of nuclear material and sites and the prevention of acts of
nuclear terrorism, whose possible devastating effects are truly difficult to
imagine. In the long-term, prevention measures are called for, measures that
penetrate to the deepest cultural and social roots through, for example,
programs of formation for the diffusion of a “culture of safety and security”
both in the nuclear sector and in the public conscience in general. A special
role must be reserved for codes of conduct for human resources which, in the
nuclear sector, must always be conscious of the possible effects of their
activity. Security depends upon the State, but above all on the sense of
responsibility of each person.

Mister President!

7. The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) of the Agency
is one of the principal instruments for transferring nuclear science and
technology to Member States in order to promote social, economic and integral
development. Its initiatives, when tailored to the needs of the recipient States
and their partners in the context of national priorities, help to combat poverty
and can thus contribute to a more peaceful solution of the serious problems
facing humanity.

In this regard, the Holy See is participating in this year’s Scientific Forum
dedicated to the topic “Food for the Future: Meeting the Challenges with Nuclear
Applications”. This theme highlights the pressing need of fighting the hunger
and malnutrition of so many members of the human family. The Holy See obviously
has no technical solutions to offer. Nevertheless, it is of the opinion that
bio– and nuclear- technologies cannot be evaluated solely on the basis of
immediate economic interests. They must be submitted beforehand to rigorous
scientific and ethical examination, in order to prevent them from becoming
harmful for human health and the future of our planet.

8. Also in the context of the TCP, I wish to mention the
particular role of radio-nuclides used in the diagnosis and treatment of
malignant diseases. Radiation therapy is one of the fundamental treatments of
cancer, and more than 50% of the patients diagnosed with this disease would
benefit from that kind of therapy either applied alone or in conjunction with
surgery and chemotherapy. Yet, in the developing world, more than half of the
number of patients suffering from cancer will not have access to radiotherapy
due to the lack of appropriate equipment and sufficiently trained staff with
expertise in clinical and medical physics. The Holy See appreciates the work and
efforts of the IAEA and its partners in the planning and furthering of
cancer-control programmes and encourages the IAEA to continue to pursue and
strengthen these eminently important activities. The Programme of Action for
Cancer Therapy (PACT), which aims at increasing its capacity to assist Member
States in the tremendous task of combating cancer and creating regional centres
of excellence for radiotherapy, deserves honourable mention.

9. Allow me to conclude, Mr. President, with the following:
by considering nuclear policies from the perspective of the “integral
development of the human person” (Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986,
pp 5), which implies not only material development but, more importantly, the
cultural and moral development of every person and all peoples, the Holy See
views, and invites others to view, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s
contribution to “peace, health and prosperity”.